Daily news - 12th October 2015

UK news

Improving smoking cessation in drug and alcohol treatment (PDF)

A briefing on PHE-supported smoking cessation pilots summarises what Turning Point did to set them up in terms of implementing evidence-based interventions and processes. It should be of use to other drug and alcohol services considering introducing or expanding smoking cessation, and to their commissioners | PHE and Turning Point, UK

Liberal Democrats set up expert panel on cannabis legalisation

Group including former government adviser and ex-chief constable will consider how a legal market for cannabis could work in Britain | Guardian, UK

Tobacco tax increase urged by parliamentary group

Tax on tobacco should be raised to persuade more smokers to quit, a parliamentary group has said | BBC, UK

Injecting drug users treated for botulism

Two injecting drug users are being treated in hospital for suspected botulism, it has been confirmed | BBC, UK

Study supports safety of medical cannabis for chronic pain

Patients with chronic pain who medicate with cannabis were at no higher risk of serious adverse events than patients who did not take cannabis | Pharmaceutical Journal, UK

The massive health benefits of giving up sugar and alcohol for just one month

A Dutch man recently did a one-month sugar and alcohol fast and watched his cholesterol, weight and blood pressure fall | Independent, UK

Free-thinking Brighton wants to legalise cannabis the most - with just one Tory seat in the top 10

Nearly 1,000 people in the Green Party's only seat backed a landmark petition which will be debated in Parliament, Mirror Online can reveal | Mirror, UK

BBC Documentaries

The BBC Documentaries department is making a sensitive human-interest film, which we hope will raise awareness of alcohol addiction through the stories of those battling the disease. This will be a one-hour, BBC2 documentary. We are hoping to speak to families, off the record, who are living with a relative or partner dependent on alcohol with a view to finding a family who may be interested in taking part in the documentary. For more information and contact details click here | BBC, UK

Are you in recovery and have a pet hate about current addiction provision/opinion/practices?

This year’s Recovery in the Community Conference is hosting a Room 101 style session and they’re looking for a panel member who is in recovery and wants something consigned to oblivion in Room 101. If you are interested in getting involved then you'll need to submit your suggestion by this Friday 16th October | Sheffield Alcohol Support Service, UK

Families First - free event

10 November 2015, 6pm – 8pm - Birmingham City Council Banqueting Suite. While addiction can tear families apart, family support can be a huge factor in driving the successful recovery of both the individual and the whole family | Adfam and DDN, UK

Marsh Christian Awards

Addaction is delighted to announce that we are launching the new Marsh Recovery Awards. These awards are to recognise the dedication, hard work and outstanding contribution that people in recovery have made to raising awareness and combatting the stigma associated with substance use | Addaction, UK

World Homeless Day 2015: John Dolan on his journey from rough-sleeping addict to successful artist and author

East Londoner’s work now sells for thousands and he’s anxious to help others out of poverty | Independent, UK

Community projects across England support people into work, training and education

The Big Lottery Fund is matching funds from the European Social Fund (ESF) 2014-2020 to provide joint investment in 61 local projects tackling poverty, promoting social inclusion and boosting local economies. See also here | Big Lottery Fund, UK

Lancaster University: Zero-tolerance drugs policy at our venues

Lancaster University and its Students' Union have released a statement after two students were admitted to hospital suffering the effects of taking drugs | ITV, UK

Manchester raids see more than a million cigarettes seized

More than a million cigarettes and 74 litres of alcohol have been seized in a two-day crackdown on suspected illegal trading in Greater Manchester | BBC, UK

Heroin gang who operated from an Edinburgh prison are jailed for 50 years

A drugs gang including a convicted killer who ran a £1m heroin ring from his Edinburgh prison cell have been jailed for a total of almost 50 years | BBC, UK

From the archive, 12 October 1915: Editorial - No more rounds at the pub

The ‘No Treating’ Order made it illegal for people to buy alcoholic drinks for others and reduced Public House opening times | Guardian, UK

International news

Alarming number of countries flout international law by executing for drug-related crimes

The death penalty continues to be used as a tool in the so-called “war on drugs”, with an alarming number of states across the globe executing people convicted on drug-related charges, in clear violation of international law, Amnesty International said ahead of the World Day against the Death Penalty (10 October) | Amnesty International, UK

Revealed: how ‘big tobacco’ used EU rules to win health delay

Cigarette companies pushed EC’s Better Regulation agenda to secure three-year moratorium on plain packaging | Guardian, UK

Heroin crisis: presidential candidates forced to confront issue on campaign trail

New Hampshire plays a pivotal role in the primaries, but with the state battling record overdose deaths, an epidemic is moving into national spotlight again | Guardian, UK

Protesters rally after Michigan man dies in jail of drug withdrawal

Friends and family of a Michigan man who died naked in a jail cell of drug withdrawal while serving a sentence for a traffic ticket staged a rally on Saturday, as the FBI continued to investigate the incident. Local authorities said deputies had done nothing wrong in the case | Guardian, UK

Welfare recipients are less likely to be drug users than average American, results show

Critics say the thousands of dollars spent on drugs-testing poor in "shaming" regime could be better spent elsewhere | Independent, UK

Oregon marijuana stores sell more than $11m in first week of recreational sales

The Oregon Retailers of Cannabis Association estimates that marijuana stores sold more than $11m of marijuana during the state’s first week of legal recreational sales | Guardian, UK

Medical marijuana: California governor signs bills to regulate industry

Legislation creates first statewide licensing and operating rules for cannabis growers and retailers, prompting a divided reaction among advocates | Guardian, UK

Alcohol in primary care

The Medical Independent highlights the most recent ICGP advice to those working in primary care about treating the effects and symptoms of alcohol misuse | Medical Independent, Ireland

Drug tests for courts a waste of time says forensic scientist

Labs spend hours on preliminary testing which is pointless as defendants later plead guilty | Irish Times, Ireland

Injection of new psychoactive substance snow blow associated with recently acquired HIV infections among homeless people who inject drugs in Dublin, Ireland, 2015

In February 2015, the Department of Public Health (DPH), Health Service Executive (HSE) in Dublin, Ireland, identified an unexpected increase in cases of acute HIV infection among people who inject drugs (PWID); three cases were diagnosed p24 antigen-positive in January and February 2015, compared with two cases diagnosed during the whole year in 2014 | INEF, Ireland

Two men and a woman arrested after drugs worth €1.6m seized

Significant quantities of heroin, cocaine and cannabis herb found in a car and a house in Dublin | Irish Times, Ireland

How Heroin Is Hitting The Foster Care System

Timothy Dick’s office receives all kinds of reports of child abuse and neglect. Perhaps a child has a broken bone, or is underfed, or has been left home alone for too long | Huffington Post, USA

Hair Follicle Drug Tests Can Lead To A False Positive, Thanks To Secondhand Traces Of Marijuana

Hair strand drug tests detect the presence of drug metabolites in the follicle. While any discovery of metabolites in hair tests is believed to be undeniable proof of marijuana use, a new study from the Institute of Forensic Medicine in Freiburg, Germany finds that it's possible to get a false positive | Medical Daily, USA

Acrylamide exposure from smokeless tobacco dwarfed by dietary exposure or smoking

The first comprehensive assessment of the acrylamide content of smokeless tobacco products (STPs) has shown that exposure to acrylamide through STP use is much smaller than —approximately 1% of—exposure from the diet or from cigarette smoking | Medical Xpress, USA

Medicinal cannabis could be legally available by 2016

Medicinal cannabis could be legally grown and prescribed to patients as early as next year under a cross party bill that has attracted initial support from Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull | Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

Blogs, comment and opinion

MPs briefing for cannabis legalisation debate on 12 October

On Monday 12 October, at 4.30pm, MPs will debate the legalisation of cannabis in Westminster Hall. The debate results from an e-petition that garnered more than 220,000 signatures. Below is a briefing for MPs, to support the call for the government to take control of the cannabis trade by legalising and regulating its production and supply | Transform Blog, UK

Banning cannabis has failed - now is the time for our MPs to show true courage

Prohibition builds empires of criminals and outlaws the world's most ancient medicine, writes Labour MP Paul Flynn | Mirror Opinion, UK

How many chemsexers does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Some decades back, when street-homeless heroin use started becoming more obvious around city streets, a couple of epidemiologists got together to screw in a light bulb. This blog compares the ChemSex syndemic affecting gay populations to the earlier responses to increasing heroin use | FS Magazine, UK

Briefing on IBA & LGBT people – a key group to ‘target’?

A short briefing highlights the potential for IBA to reduce alcohol related harm amongst lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGB&T) people. It describes LGBT groups as a ‘high-risk group’ for alcohol misuse given research that shows higher prevalence | Alcohol IBA Blog, UK

What new drugs has the Forensic Early Warning System found?

The Home Office funded Forensic Early Warning System (FEWS) was set up in January 2011 in response to the emergence of new psychoactive substances (NPS), often referred to as ‘legal highs’ | Russell Webster, UK

The EU’s attack on e-cigarettes will bring a golden age of vaping to an end

Walking down most British high streets you could be forgiven for thinking that e-cigarettes are more common than tobacco. It’s a false impression | Spectator, UK

The strange death of boozy Britain: why are young people drinking less?

Whenever horrific tales of the drunken escapades of the youth are reported, one photo reliably gets wheeled out: "bench girl", a young woman lying passed out on a public bench above bottles of booze in Bristol. The image is in urgent need of updating: it is now a decade old. Britain has spent that time moving away from booze | New Statesman, UK

Pregnant women don't 'deserve' a drink - not even Prosecco

As doctors rule out alcohol during any stage of pregnancy, Emma Barnett thinks British women should listen up | Telegraph, UK

Which Countries Still Execute People for Drug Offenses?

The three worst executioners in the world, China, Iran and Saudi Arabia, are also those who execute most drug offenders. This may not sound surprising, yet, little is known about the reality of the death penalty for drug offenses in those countries | Talking Drugs, UK

How do you see smoking?- World have your say - BBC radio iPlayer

A new study shows two-thirds of Chinese men start smoking before they're twenty. We talk about perceptions of smoking in different parts of the world. After a number high-profile stories of abuse, what is it like to be a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia? We hear voices from Tunisia after mediators in their transition to democracy won the Nobel Peace Prize | BBC World Service, UK

The Truth About the 'Viral Video Challenge' of Rich Mexican Women Doing Bumps of Cocaine

"That video was recorded well over a year ago," says Ber. We're sat in her living room in São Paulo, where she's invited me hoping I can help her disprove the "little pass challenge" story that made the rounds a few weeks ago. "It was a bad joke in a WhatsApp chat that got taken completely out of context." | VICE, UK